Thai immigration

[Guest]

Then he asked for the piece of paper, which I stupidly gave him. But then I said "I told you TAXI METER!" and he finally turned the meter on. 450 baht my ass. The fare was 210 baht by the time we got there plus tolls. I begrudgingly did give him a little tip because he handled my bags, but at least I did not have to haggle with him. I have since been told not to surrender that little piece of paper which has his ID. He could have lost his license with that cute stunt had I reported him, but at least I was not his latest victim.

 

When using airport taxis, I hang onto that piece of paper & INSIST they use the meter.

The last 2 trips, i used the airport rail link. As I have an aversion to taxis, a hotel next to the BTS station & lightweight rucksack that can be moved swiftly up & down steps, the rail link is a good solution for me. Delete any of those criteria & a taxi is recommended.

 

When travelling economy, I usually get an emergency exit row seat. Cost? About 2 hours of my time for turning up early and in the case of Heathrow,

[Guest anonone]

Suggestions listed above are horribly out of date. That was for an age before computers knew everything about the passengers well ahead of time. Upgrades are a much sought after perk for elite flyers and they are well regulated.

 

The key is elite status and miles consolidated with a single airline....or at least a single alliance. If you are willing to invest significant amounts of time and learn the system, the rewards and perks are out there; Both upgrades out of economy class and free flights in business or first class.

 

I have now taken 9 trips to Thailand on economy tickets and have yet to sit in the coach section. (I hope I have not just jinxed myself ) The economy tickets have sometimes cost a couple hundred more dollars than the absolute lowest fare, but very worth it for a business class seat on the 20 hour trek to paradise. I have also flown on free, first class tickets several times to Thailand from the US.

 

It is not always easy and it takes time to learn the system, but to me it is absolutely worth it.

[Guest fountainhall]

Cathay Pacific will be the latest airline to introduce a premium economy. I just got an email with the details -

 

On the ground, you will have access to priority check-in at dedicated counters and priority boarding before Economy Class passengers – plus an increase in baggage allowance from 20kg to 25kg (weight system) or two pieces of baggage at 25kg (piece system).

 

In the air, you will have more privacy in a separate, smaller cabin located just before Economy Class – with no more than 34 seats. We've enhanced our inflight catering service with juice and champagne as welcome drinks, and we will be serving higher-quality meals. You'll receive some useful extras in our environmentally-friendly amenity kit, plus a larger pillow and a noise-cancelling headset for use during the journey – all designed to improve your on-board experience.

 

The new seats are wider and provide more room for you to stretch out with a seat pitch measuring 38 inches – six inches more than Economy Class – and extended recline. Additional comforts include a large meal table, cocktail table, footrest, 10.6-inch personal television, in-seat power outlet, multi-port connector for personal devices, and extra personal stowage space.

 

We will be progressively introducing our Premium Economy Class on long-haul flights, beginning with the Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver and New York routes, followed by London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, continental Europe, and other key routes as the number of aircraft fitted with the product increases. We plan to have 87 aircraft fitted with the new class by the end of 2013.

I don't know how this compares with the product offered by other airlines. Probably not much different, but keep a look-out for special offers when the seats are introduced on each route. The problem for elite flyers is that upgrades from economy/coach will soon only be up to premium economy. The days of upgrades from economy to lie-flat business seats are quickly dying out.

[Guest fountainhall]

Back to the topic's title. I left BKK this morning on an 08:30 flight. Having noticed improvements in recent months, at 07:15 Immigration at the west end (nearest the city) was back to virtually its worst. The queue once again snaked out of the Immigration area and backed up to the check-in desks. This can not be a result of Nok and Orient Thai's flights being moved to Suvarnabhumi. More likely it's the peak post-floods travel period.

[mahjongguy]

The queue once again snaked out of the Immigration area and backed up to the check-in desks.[snip] More likely it's the peak post-floods travel period.

And now we are coming up fast on Chinese New Year. It's January 23rd this time. To/from Asia will be busy busy.

[Bob]

And now we are coming up fast on Chinese New Year. It's January 23rd this time. To/from Asia will be busy busy.

 

The week before and a few days after, most likely. But I remember flying over here to Thailand on Chinese New Year day itself a few years back and the airports were eerily empty (I remember actually asking some janitor in LAX airport if the airport was open!). And Taipei's airport was largely deserted too.

[Guest fountainhall]

I remember flying over here to Thailand on Chinese New Year day itself a few years back and the airports were eerily empty

That's because, like Thanksgiving, Chinese need to be at their destinations at least by the evening beforehand when the first of the various celebrations start. Like you, I was once on a 747 from Hong Kong to Melbourne on Chinese New Year's Day. There were all of 23 passengers on board!

 

This trip I am coming back to BKK on the evening of the 19th. I expect the flight and the airport to be packed!

[kokopelli]

[quote name='fountainhall'

This trip I am coming back to BKK on the evening of the 19th. I expect the flight and the airport to be packed!

 

Don't forget the Champagne! Seriously how many bottles of wine do you bring through customs? The max is supposed to be l liter although I usually try to bring two bottles @750ml. What happens if one is questioned?

 

Sometimes I notice that Customs checks some passengers, usually Asians with big loads of luggage.

[Guest fountainhall]

Don't forget the Champagne! Seriously how many bottles of wine do you bring through customs?

Haha! Don't worry. It's on my list for next week's flight.

 

Usually I just bring one bottle. But then I travel quite a lot and sometimes don't even bring one. I did once have my suitcase x-rayed as I went through customs and was glad there was no bottle stashed in it.